So firstly let me say I'm not entirely new to growing cannabis but I'm no baron either. I do, however, have a great deal of knowledge on the subject, drive, free time and money to invest, hoping for a solid return. I am considering using a setup consisting of: four 4x4 flood trays for flowering, and one for veg (five in all), lit by 1000w HPS lights with the badass agro wing glass reflector and the light deflector doohickey, with a 400 or 600w MH for the veg table. I'm hopin the agro-wing with reflector will buy me the extra foot to give the plants almost 1000 lumens/sq.ft. @ 3ft. The veg table will set up as an ebb and flow table, the bloomers as top feeds, all with 20 gallon reserviors and 260gph pumps. The whole setup will be sealed in with black&white plastic, with a divider set up for veg/flower segregation and ventilated by a 100cfm in and 400cfm out fan, controlled by a humidistat/thermostat. I'm going to use a 2 or 3 part nute system as well as additives for strength resistance and budgoodness. I'll be growing from clones purchased at a local dispensary at first, taking my own ASAP. I'll also be implementing a no bullshit CO2 system as soon as the first few crops roll in. You might have guessed I'll be growing on a rotation, harvesting one table every two weeks, optimally. My question is this. In order to maximize yield for the 4x4 beds, should I flower 16 plants per bed with a bit of topping and a 3 week rotation or should I cram them in 6" square pots, go without any fancy pruning except for a bit at the bottom, and flower at 16-18" hoping for a 2.5-3' plant? This might sound really stupid but in all my reading and pouring over books (modern ones!) and websites and blah blah, I really can't get a good idea of what kind of yield to expect from a system like this. I know yield is very strain dependant and I don't know what's up for grabs clone-wise or what will be when the time comes, but I'm gunning for an 80/20 indica/sativa hybrid known for strong buds, and maybe fun colored if I can, but really Im choosing for yield, density and fast growth. I'd really appreciate absolutely any input possible, I'm getting nothing from other sites. I worked my ass off for the priviledge to start with such equipment and I want to maximize it as best I can.
I haven't tried sog but it would depend if the clone or plant is naturally branch or grows one main cola just depends on the pheno really but I would go for the one main cola, do 16 and trim a little off the bottom like you said and go for 1-2 oz per plant..you could always do like 8 bigger ones, branch them out to fill the space, and then take a few clones off each and then pick your favorite for the mother after you try them all..that's if you're going from seed since each plant will be different..sounds like you got it down that's probably why nobody responded...good luck